Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse football left offensive guard Zack Chibane has made 29 consecutive starts in his college career, 25 of them next to tackle Justin Pugh. The two will be reunited at 7 p.m. Friday when Syracuse (1-3, 0-0) plays Pittsburgh (2-2, 0-1) in a Big East contest in the Carrier Dome.

“It feels great having him back,” Chibane said of Pugh. “He brings energy. He’s there to pick everybody up. It’s a pleasure to have him back. It’s only making us better as a whole now that he’s back.”

Chibane and Pugh have been roommates since they arrived together in August 2009. Chibane played that season, mostly on special teams, and is thus a senior, while Pugh is a junior. They have 54 games of starting experienced combined. While excited about the return of his good friend and All-Big East left tackle, Chibane adopted a “show me” stance when asked how good the group can be with Pugh on the left side and sophomore Sean Hickey moving to the right.

“We’ll have to see,” Chibane said. “I have great expectations for the way we’re going to go out there and play the rest of these games, but you have to put it out on the field. We’ve had talent here before, we’ve had good communication here before, and things have broken down. We’re just trying to take it one game at a time and be successful.”